I must be a real Noob here since I can't seem to find the Noob Forum or threads directed towards noobs. I'd like to educate myself with the nuances of the E36 / E46 platform that's why I was looking for perhaps some FAQ's and the like. Specifically, I'm looking to purchase a used (unmolested) 328i somewhere between '96 to '00. I say unmolested since I have no real plans or have any real desire to do any extraneous mods. I've got a JDM 300ZX TT that eats all my funds up for something like that.
Thanks for any assistance you can provide, cheers, *wave*
-John-

propr'one

02-26-2008, 04:10 AM

the e46 and e36 are very different cars, you have to decide which car you want. 99+ 328's are e46's.

jschrauwen

02-26-2008, 04:23 AM

the e46 and e36 are very different cars, you have to decide which car you want. 99+ 328's are e46's. Thanks for that. I know that during 99 they had a model change for the 328i which was in turn labelled the E46 platform. That's why I mentioned both platforms since the 328i covers both for the model year(s) I'm looking at.

Are there noob forums / threads for me to go to?

Meegis

02-26-2008, 08:33 AM

Heres an answer for all the noobs....

Get an Audi! :D

Just kidding (or am i).... anyways, to answer the question on noob threads. It is always best to check the model specific forums and do a quick search for what you may be asking. If you have particulars that cannot be found via search, than just make a new thread like you did here.

Worst that can happen is that it gets moved or someone calls it a re-post and (usually) will show you the original thread.

jschrauwen

02-26-2008, 11:38 AM

Heres an answer for all the noobs....

Get an Audi! :D

Just kidding (or am i).... anyways, to answer the question on noob threads. It is always best to check the model specific forums and do a quick search for what you may be asking. If you have particulars that cannot be found via search, than just make a new thread like you did here.

Worst that can happen is that it gets moved or someone calls it a re-post and (usually) will show you the original thread.So I guess the short answer would be no? OK, no worries. The search function wasn't given me any hits whatsoever to certain queries which I found very strange.
Strange you should say Audi. Eric Schnaithmann, owner/manager of Competition Motors in Belleville who specializes in Posche, Audi, VW and BMW said something similar. I guess my age is showing, but my desire for a BMW is derived from years of lusting and seeing such nice machines. Not really knowing the intricacies of a BMW or a 328i for that matter, I went to his shop to ask a few general questions. He led me to believe or gave me the impression that I would find more reliability with an Audi/VW. That BMW's for the most part are very expensive when it comes to routine parts repair/replacement. Basics such as brakes and the like are considerably more expensive in comparison to Audi/VW. He went on to elaborate about items that I already found to be sore spots (searched Cdn Consumers Guide) with the BMW such as cooling (water pumps), electrical (sometimes), brakes (calipers siezing routinely) and other nigly things that seem to crop up. These nigly things I gathered for the most part would be considered embarrassing to the BMW marque considering it's heritage, prestige and of course, cost. Things that shouldn't ever be an issue with a car that doesn't change substantially between different platforms and whose type production runs are usually twice as long as other auto makers.
Anyway, I'm rambling here. Suffice it to say that I got the impression that for my use/purposes, he thought I would be happier with an Audi/VW instead. My use would be mostly for back and forth to work. Long trips to Milton, Dundas and North Bay to visit family on a year round basis. The car would see it's use drop in the summer my about half since I'll have my "fun" car to use during the nice weather.
I currently have a line on a local car - a '97 328i Cpe, Silver on Black with about 60,000kms.
I see a fair amount of 328i's in the Auto trader in and around Toronto and was wondering if there are some dealerships that I should avoid.
Anyway, rather than starting a new thread, if anyone can share or enlighten this noob, it would be appreciated.

M badge after or before any of those letters means some asswipe gave the car an identity crisis.

Mickey Knox

02-26-2008, 12:01 PM

E36
M badge after or before any of those letters means some asswipe gave the car an identity crisis.

ROFL

Debadge 4TW*th-up**th-up*

jschrauwen

02-26-2008, 12:16 PM

Thanks for that guys. I just edited post#6 while you posted your replies. Anything there that anyone can touch on?

Blades

02-26-2008, 12:23 PM

Thanks for that guys. I just edited post#6 while you posted your replies. Anything there that anyone can touch on?

what else would you like to know? we can give you pages of info but who knows what exactly your looking for.

just325iS

02-26-2008, 02:28 PM

If you want to learn, you should go and hang out at Bimmersport for a couple of days.

The BMW is a way better driver's car than Audi.

BigD

02-26-2008, 02:40 PM

Thanks for that guys. I just edited post#6 while you posted your replies. Anything there that anyone can touch on?

Ask the guy who told you Audi's are cheaper to maintain, how much it costs to replace a timing belt on a V6 A4. (hint, you have to either disassemble the front of the car or remove the engine)

These cars may not be the most exceptionally reliable but they are far from bad. They have weak points, like any design (calipers seize on Hondas too, except their weakass alternators and starters fail quickly too). There's a sad truth to accept about German cars and that is they don't know how to wire a car to last for shit. They also can't program but I won't get into that here. Electrical gremlins on these cars as they age are common and can be difficult to track down.

But here's the good part. Unlike other cars, a BMW problem will rarely strand you, or require immediate repair. The only common weakness of that kind is the radiator. The side tanks are plastic and the upper nozzle breaks off with time. But if you know this, and replace the rad when you get the car, you'll get another 100++ k out of it without seeing that. A problem on a BMW usually makes it run or drive imperfectly, and perhaps make other things worse over time, but they rarely need fixing just to make the car driveable/safe. I've had an E28 with a ball joint so bad it could be removed from the suspension arm (due to having 20 Canadian winters, 400k on the clock, and 8 cheap owners to its name). BUT, the way the arms are isntalled, they are always loaded, so this can't happen under normal conditions. I've personally seen some other cars with their wheels spread eagle because of the same problem and an inferior design.

Also with the E36s, the engines are very tough. None of them have timing belts, and they are very solidly built. They have their own bugs but like I said, all engines do (for instance, on the 2.5/2.8/M3 engines, the oil pump nut can come off together with the sprocket, but if you watch your warning lights this is imminently survivable).

The only real legitimate concern with the E36 design (also inherited by the E46 by the way) is a shortsighted design of the rear suspension mounts. The sheetmetal where the mounts bolt to the body will flex and tear over time. This can make for a pretty spectacular failure (imagine having your rear end steering itself arbitrarily). The M3 came with reinforcement plates and you can have these installed in your car at Bimmersport for $1000 (a good idea for a pre-emptive fix in my opinion).

diezel06turk

02-26-2008, 03:25 PM

Ask the guy who told you Audi's are cheaper to maintain, how much it costs to replace a timing belt on a V6 A4. (hint, you have to either disassemble the front of the car or remove the engine).

thats very true and ur looking to replace ur control arms every other 2 months, plus a whole bunch of electrical shit.

just 2 of my buddies sold their a4 and s4 for the reasons above and both bought e36s

Meegis

02-26-2008, 04:26 PM

I want to point out that maintenance on an Audi and BMW are very comparable in the broad look.

I do agree that engine jobs on Audi V6's are ball busters, but there are many other repairs on a BMW that can be too. To each brand goes the award of over-engineered stupidity.

For those spouting off that BMW's are better, and Audis suck, I just want to say that this is a very biased forum (for obvious reason). Im not fighting that you guys believe they are better, but in truth, neither one is better than the other. Like I already said, and to also reiterate on Big D's rant, each one will do the job it is intended for, each with its own problems and each with its own common maintenance items.

Do I believe Audi's are better than BMW's? Yes, some of them. BUT I do believe some BMWs will blow the doors off the Audis.

Gamite

02-26-2008, 04:29 PM

I want to point out that maintenance on an Audi and BMW are very comparable in the broad look.

I do agree that engine jobs on Audi V6's are ball busters, but there are many other repairs on a BMW that can be too. To each brand goes the award of over-engineered stupidity.

For those spouting off that BMW's are better, and Audis suck, I just want to say that this is a very biased forum (for obvious reason). Im not fighting that you guys believe they are better, but in truth, neither one is better than the other. Like I already said, and to also reiterate on Big D's rant, each one will do the job it is intended for, each with its own problems and each with its own common maintenance items.

Do I believe Audi's are better than BMW's? Yes, some of them. BUT I do believe some BMWs will blow the doors off the Audis.

Actually I find this forum to be very unbiased. Read some of the threads wereh someone is looking for a good reliable car. No one will mention BMW. They speak the truth and recommend japanese cars.

On the other hand, I find you to be VERY biased towards audi's.

BigD

02-26-2008, 04:34 PM

I want to point out that maintenance on an Audi and BMW are very comparable in the broad look.

I do agree that engine jobs on Audi V6's are ball busters, but there are many other repairs on a BMW that can be too. To each brand goes the award of over-engineered stupidity.

For those spouting off that BMW's are better, and Audis suck, I just want to say that this is a very biased forum (for obvious reason). Im not fighting that you guys believe they are better, but in truth, neither one is better than the other. Like I already said, and to also reiterate on Big D's rant, each one will do the job it is intended for, each with its own problems and each with its own common maintenance items.

Do I believe Audi's are better than BMW's? Yes, some of them. BUT I do believe some BMWs will blow the doors off the Audis.

Can you name something on an A4 that is straightforward to do, which is stupidly difficult (ie expensive) on an E36?

Blades

02-26-2008, 04:51 PM

Can you name something on an A4 that is straightforward to do, which is stupidly difficult (ie expensive) on an E36?